The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE is set to lobby global partners to invest in renewable energy potential projects under Zimbabwe’s Low Emission Development Strategy (LEDS), at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).
This follows global calls to move away from coal-fuelled power plants under the “no new coal” agenda, with major powers like China stating that they will no longer build or fund new coal-fired power projects.
This was revealed by Zesa Holdings executive chairman Dr Sydney Gata during a recent media tour of the Hwange Power Station. Dr Gata said as part of efforts to adopt to renewable energy power generation, Zimbabwe was engaging neighbouring countries to make use of gorges around them to generate hydro-electric power.
One such project, he said, was the Zambezi and Kafue Hydro-Electric Power Potential project where gorges could be utilised such as the Batoka Gorge, Kafue Gorge and Devils Gorge, among others.
He said in the long term, they were looking at alternative technologies and working with partners from abroad to explore plasma gasification of municipal waste, which has marginal consequences on the environment.
“This is a project we are already in development and at study phase in Harare and we are probably going to extend it to Bulawayo because that facility will be located in big cities which discharge a lot of municipal waste which will be the fuel to the technology I am talking of,” said Dr Gata.
Plasma gasification is an emerging technology that can process landfill waste to extract commodity recyclables and convert carbon-based materials into fuels. Zimbabwe has access to vast and diverse possible energy resources which include about 12 billion tonnes of coal, hydro power potential concentrated along the Zambezi River. However, massive efforts are being established to tap into green energy economies power potential.
The country is working on transitioning from a fossil fuel to a green economy so that it can run farming, industry, mining and also transition from petrol and diesel traction to electric cars and railway locomotives to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Studies show that each year more than 36 000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere, which is the main source of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Most of these gases come from the use of fossil fuels, the generation of energy through non-renewable channels, and polluting human activities.
Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa is expected to attend the Conference of Parties (COP26) meeting in the United Kingdom next month where he will lead a Zimbabwean delegation and present the country’s mitigation measures and adaptation actions against climate change.
This comes as Zimbabwe has done a lot more in carbon sinking through the various afforestation and reforestation programmes, conservation agriculture (Pfumvudza/Intwasa) and emitting less on its growth trajectory towards Vision 2030.
In a post-Cabinet briefing recently, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the implementation of renewable energy projects in the country and use of more efficient low emission technologies in thermal power plants also reflected Government’s commitment towards reduction in emissions.
